Annealing furnace



Nov. 6, 1934. A. MARING ANNEALING FuRNAcE Filed Nov. 4. 1931 3Sheets-Sheet l llllllllllllllll INVENTOR EETQ/NG.

BY Hts ATTORNEYS A. MARING 1,979,697

ANNEALING FURNACE Filed Nov. 4,1951, s sheets-sheet 2 Nov. 6, 1934.

NOV. 6, 1934. A MARlNG 1,979,697

ANNEALING FURNACE v Filed-NOV. 4, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY HIS ATTORNEYSZ Patented Nov., 6, 1934 ANNEMJENG FURNACE Albert Maring, Muskegon,Mich., assigner to Anaconda Wire s; Cable Company, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application November d, i931, Serial No. 572,898

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j@ and to provide means for continuously passing the same therethrough.

'Another object of the present invention is to improve and to facilitatethe annealing of spools of metal wire.

'35 Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the inventionis more fully disclosed.

In accordance with the objects of the present invention I have designeda self-loading and a l self-discharging annealing furnace of the mufg@ eor indirectly heated type which is adapted to continuously anneal aplurality of spools or packages of metal wire passing therethrough.

Before further disclosing the scope of the present invention referenceshould be made to g the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is asectional side elevation view of the annealing furnace of the presentinvention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same taken alongplane 21 2,'Fig. l;

3@ Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation View similar to theView in'Fig. 1 with the center, end and top portions broken away;

Fig. l is a cross-sectional view taken along y plane d i, Fig. i;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View taken along plane 5 5, Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along plane 6 6, Fig. 5 andFig. 'i is a sectional side elevation view of an 4@ air valve element ofthe present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the annealing furnace of the presentinvention comprises a base or body portion i having the usual bottom,side, end and top walls interiorly lined or faced with i5 refractoryinsulation such as Silocel, magnesite, fire brick and the likeidentified by numeral 2. The annealing furnace has the usual combustionchamber 3 into which extends burner 4 adapted to utilize the customarygaseous or f5@ liquefied fuels, the combustion gases passing from thecombustion chamber 3 into the annealing furnace and thence out throughconvenient outlet as indicated in the drawings at 5. In-

l teriorly disposed within the furnace is a welded metal structure 6spaced from the interior walls of the furnace chamber to permit freecirculation of combustion gases thereabout. Each end of the sealedchamber 6 extends downward into a liquid seal pit '7 thereby completelysealing the same from the atmosphere. The liquid seal pit opens to theatmosphere.

I provide gravity means to continually supply metal articles or packageswhich it is desired to anneal to one of the liquid seal -pits andprovide conveyor means to conduct the same from the @5 pit into andthrough the welded annealing cham-v ber 6 and from thence into thesecond liquid seal pit 7, the conveyor means serving also to lift theannealed metal article or package from the second liquid seal pit 'l' toa platform from which it is conducted by gravity away from the furnace.For the purpose of convenience I have illustrated in the drawings theapplication of the present invention to the annealing of spools of Wire,but I do not wish to be limited thereby as it is apparent I5 that othermetal articles may be similarly annealed by merely attaching them toframes adapted to rotate in a manner similar to spools or they may bedirectly placed upon suitable conveyor means and passed through theannealing furnace 8@ in substantially the same manner as is hereinillustrated with respect to spools of Wire.

In the drawings numeral 8 indicates the wire spools. In Fig. l theprogression of the spool is from right to left and as illustrated thespool is placed upon an inclined platform 9 comprising a part of thefurnace base l from which by gravity it rolls toward liquid seal pit '7.At the edge of the pit it becomes engaged by a bar i7 of a belt conveyororganization which may be comprised of 9@ any convenient or desirablektype of conveyor belt suitable for the purpose of the presentinvention. The spool 8 rolls down the incline platform il to the bottomof the pit 7 from which it is lifted by means of the conveyor belt alongincline plat- @d form 12 into chamber 6 along which it is rolled untilit reaches the end thereof. From thence the roll 8 is discharged alongincline platform i3 into the second pit '7 and the conveyor belt thenpicks it up and moves it along the incline platform lull 1i to thedischarging platform l5 which is inclined away from the furnace so thatthe spool rolls by force of gravity to a desired receiving point.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 in section a plurality of 105 spools 8 may befed through the furnace, if desired, it only being necessary to adaptthe broad idea to provide means for accomplishing the same. In theadaptation of the annealing of a plurality of spools at the same timethe interior 'l1-o of the welded structure 6 is provided with a plu--Lrality of track sections 16 between which the spools are adapted toroll. Conveyor means l0 may be comprised of a bar member l'l extendingacross the chamber from side to side and attached at each end to theconveyor belt or chain 18 running along the under side of the extension19 in the manner indicated. Other means may be provided to accomplishthe same result than by the endless conveyor belt means herein disclosedand, accordingly, I do not wish to be limited specifically thereto.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a sectional view taken along plane 5 5,Fig. l, in which pyrometer means 20 and 21 areindicated which areemployed in controlling temperatures in the furnace chamber and theannealing chamber respectively. The method of anchoring the overheadportion of the conveyor apparatus 10 to the furnace roof is alsoillustrated in Fig. 5 and in enlarged detail in Fig. 6.

In Fig. '7 I have illustrated an air vent device 22 which I utilize forthe purpose of equalizing the pressure in the annealing chamber 6 withthat of the atmosphere. The air vent device 22 comprises essentially ahollow tubular member 23 extending from the interior of the chamber 6 tothe atmosphere and closed at the end opening into the atmosphere byspherical member 24 adapted to be seated therein. Spherical member 24 isor may be weighted to retain any desired pressure within the chamber 6and is probably provided with means 25 to retain the same in the seatsubstantially'in the manner illustrated. This permits accumulatedpressures to be released, vbut prevents the spherical member 24 frombeing displaced sufflciently to fail to return to its end clos\` ingposition.

It is apparent from the above description taken in conjunction with thedrawings thatthe present invention is adapted to many modifications and.departures from the specific. embodiment thereof herein disclosed andall such modifications and departures are anticipated as may fall withinthe scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an annealing furnace, an annealing chamber, liquid seals at eachend of said furnace, a plurality of runways traversing the length ofsaid furnace and into and out of said seals, a platform adjacent one ofsaid sealsl inclined towards said seal, a platform adjacent the otherseal inclined away from said seal and conveyor means to receive aplurality of spools carrying materials to be annealed from the rst'platform` and to roll said spools through the first seal into andthrough said chamber and into and out of said second seal onto saidsecond platform along said plurality of runways, said conveyor meanscomprising endless belt elements extending through the saidfchamber intoand out of said seals on opposite sides of said runways and a pluralityof spaced bar elements interconnecting said belt elements, the spacingsbetween said bar elements providing openings to receive the said spoolsand to permit the spool to engage the said runways, the advance motionof the said belt elements serving to roll the spools along the saidLet/aser runways from one seal into and through the chamber and otherseal.

2. An annealing furnace adapted to continuously anneal a plurality ofspools of wire comprising a heating chamber, liquid seals at each end ofsaid chamber, a plurality of runways traversing the length of saidfurnace and into and out of said seals, a platform adjacent one liquidseal inclined to feed spools of wire to the said seal and onto saidrunways, a second platform adjacent the other liquid seal inclined tofeed spools away from said seal and conveyor means .to propel saidspools along said runways through the first seal, into and through thesaidchamber and into and out of said second seal onto said secondplatform said conveyor means comprising a pair of endless belt elementsdisposed on opposite sides of said runways and passing through the saidseals and said chamber, and a plurality of spaced bar elementsconnecting the endless belt elements together, the said bar elementsbeing adapted to ride over the said runways a spaced distance therefrom,the spacing between the said bar elements providing openings adapted toreceive the said spools with the spool edges engaging the said runways,the forward motion of the endless belt elements then adapting the barelements to engage the said spool and to propel the said spool along thesaid runways through the said chamber and secondseal to the said secondplatform.

3. In an annealing furnace comprising an annealing chamber, means toexteriorly heat said chamber to the desired temperature, liquid sealmeans to seal the chamber from the atmosphere, means to thermostaticallycontrol the tem erature in said chamber and pressure re ating meansconnecting the interior of said chamber with the atmosphere, means toconduct articles into and out of said chamber through the liquid sealmeans, said means comprising a plurality vof tracks extending from oneliquid seal through the chamber tothe other liquid seal, endless beltelements disposed on -opposite sides of said tracks and passing throughthe said seals and chamber, spaced bar elements connecting said endlessbelt elements providing openings therebetween to receive articles to bepassed through the said chamber and gravity means to feed articles tothe said endless belt element at one 'seal and to remove articlestherefrom at the other seal. 125

4. A continuous annealing furnace comprising) i a heating chamber,liquid seals for both ends of said heating chamber, a 'platform adjacentone liquid seal inclined to feed articles to be annealed to the saidseal, a platform adjacent the other liquid seal inclined to feedarticles away from said seal, a plurality of tracks extending from oneliquid seal through the chamber into the other liquid seal, and endlessbelt elements disposed on opposite sides of said tracks, spaced barelements connecting said endless belt elements to provide openingstherebetween to receive articles as they are fed into one seal from oneplatform and to propel said articles along the said tracks through thesaid chamber and other sealto the other4 plat- 140 form. a,

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